david611's review against another edition
3.0
A re-read after 13 years certainly was worth the effort for at least a few chapters. Although a lot of information must be now updated considering this being a 1979 (updated) edition, this book must have been intense at that time. An entire section is dedicated to debunking "Paradoxers" which occupies more than a quarter of the book, especially on Immanuel Velikovsky's theories.
Certain introductory chapters dealing with "Why Science?", "Albert Einstein" and "about the lack of public education in science" were very nice to read.
Other chapters that were interesting to read were related to The Solar System and the usage of Nomenclature within it; on life in our Solar System based on their atmospheres; a chapter based on the Surface and Atmosphere of Titan, the moon of Saturn; Climates of Earth and Mars; Asteroids and Meteorites; Planetary Exploration; Communication and Transportation Speeds; In defense of Robots and AI; the quest for Extraterrestrial Life; Views on God and Religion, our Galaxy and the Universe; and finally a chapter on the usage of psychedelic drugs and its usage to induce Perinatal Memories while relating it to understand the Origins and Nature of Religion and to Cosmology.
If only Mr. Sagan have had lived today, I would have loved to read a revised edition of this book now after nearly four decades of its first publication in 1974.
Certain introductory chapters dealing with "Why Science?", "Albert Einstein" and "about the lack of public education in science" were very nice to read.
Other chapters that were interesting to read were related to The Solar System and the usage of Nomenclature within it; on life in our Solar System based on their atmospheres; a chapter based on the Surface and Atmosphere of Titan, the moon of Saturn; Climates of Earth and Mars; Asteroids and Meteorites; Planetary Exploration; Communication and Transportation Speeds; In defense of Robots and AI; the quest for Extraterrestrial Life; Views on God and Religion, our Galaxy and the Universe; and finally a chapter on the usage of psychedelic drugs and its usage to induce Perinatal Memories while relating it to understand the Origins and Nature of Religion and to Cosmology.
If only Mr. Sagan have had lived today, I would have loved to read a revised edition of this book now after nearly four decades of its first publication in 1974.
professor_x's review against another edition
3.0
Broca's Brain by Carl Sagan is a series of essays that touch upon different aspects of science. Some topics range from the expansion of the universe, religion versus science, short biographies on scientific figures and the different dangers posed by pseudoscience.
There are a total of 25 chapters and I thought some of the essays were a bit dry and too long for my liking. One chapter was particularly long (about 50-something pages) and was a slog to read through. Carl picks apart the claims of another scientist who believes that events described in certain religious text (Great Flood or the splitting of Red Sea, etc) can be proven to be true by scientific means. While it was cool to see Sagan rip this hypotheses apart with this own wit and knowledge I ended up skimming through the rest of the pages.
Sagan usually does a fantastic job writing for the layman and making complicated topics easy to read and relate to but in Broca's Brain the writing can go from easy to difficult in a matter of paragraphs. This made some passages hard to keep up with.
However some other essays were an absolute joy to read! I particularly enjoyed the chapters about Albert Einstein and Robert H. Goddard. Those piqued my interest and persuaded me to learn more about them. Another chapter spoke on the process of how the nomenclature of the different planets and of their craters and mountains were chosen. The fact that Uranus was almost named George was hilarious! In the chapter "Science Fiction: A Personal View" he speaks on how the science-fiction stories of his youth helped start the spark for his love of science. It was nice to gain some insight into Carl's childhood.
Overall I enjoyed the book although it certainly wasn't my favorite. There are a handful of chapters I would go back to and reread but overall I found the book on some days a chore to read through.
There are a total of 25 chapters and I thought some of the essays were a bit dry and too long for my liking. One chapter was particularly long (about 50-something pages) and was a slog to read through. Carl picks apart the claims of another scientist who believes that events described in certain religious text (Great Flood or the splitting of Red Sea, etc) can be proven to be true by scientific means. While it was cool to see Sagan rip this hypotheses apart with this own wit and knowledge I ended up skimming through the rest of the pages.
Sagan usually does a fantastic job writing for the layman and making complicated topics easy to read and relate to but in Broca's Brain the writing can go from easy to difficult in a matter of paragraphs. This made some passages hard to keep up with.
However some other essays were an absolute joy to read! I particularly enjoyed the chapters about Albert Einstein and Robert H. Goddard. Those piqued my interest and persuaded me to learn more about them. Another chapter spoke on the process of how the nomenclature of the different planets and of their craters and mountains were chosen. The fact that Uranus was almost named George was hilarious! In the chapter "Science Fiction: A Personal View" he speaks on how the science-fiction stories of his youth helped start the spark for his love of science. It was nice to gain some insight into Carl's childhood.
Overall I enjoyed the book although it certainly wasn't my favorite. There are a handful of chapters I would go back to and reread but overall I found the book on some days a chore to read through.
brucelee1255's review against another edition
4.0
Sagan's work is always enlightening and fun to read. As usual, his voice comes through unmistakably in his words. This book was a little more difficult of a read, especially in the middle section where he spends 70-some pages debunking Immanuel Velikovsky's "Worlds in Collision," a book that I wasn't even aware existed and certainly didn't need debunked.
Still, as usual, I learned quite a bit from Sagan, and I also found myself wishing he could see the pictures from space that we get today. What would he think of the New Horizons probe? The Hubble? The mind reels.
Still, as usual, I learned quite a bit from Sagan, and I also found myself wishing he could see the pictures from space that we get today. What would he think of the New Horizons probe? The Hubble? The mind reels.
jeffallton's review against another edition
4.0
I agree with others who have said essentially that the readability varies by chapter. But the good ones are still well worth it.
drako1357's review against another edition
5.0
Una colección de 25 ensayos/artículos que hablan de temas tan variados como Origen del Universo, Religión, Creación, Vida Extraterrestre, Misiones Espaciales y pensamiento Humano, que resulta una extraordinaria lectura.
Es el primer libro que leo de Sagan, después de ver la serie de Cosmos, y solo puedo decir que lo recomiendo ampliamente, (si eres una persona religiosa, mantén la mente abierta) La habilidad que tiene para explicar temas complicados de Ciencia en un lenguaje tan sencillo y asimilable me parece una extraordinaria metodología de escritura.
Es el primer libro que leo de Sagan, después de ver la serie de Cosmos, y solo puedo decir que lo recomiendo ampliamente, (si eres una persona religiosa, mantén la mente abierta) La habilidad que tiene para explicar temas complicados de Ciencia en un lenguaje tan sencillo y asimilable me parece una extraordinaria metodología de escritura.
tbr_the_unconquered's review against another edition
2.0
The science and mathematics text books that were used at my school time all started off with a little pledge that set out to instill in the young minds a scientific spirit. It spoke of endless curiosity, an investigative spirit and the willingness to observe and rework. I don’t remember the words nor the structure but I can remember looking at those pages in something like fondness for they were the only islands of difference in an otherwise droll sea of studies. The essays in Sagan’s book are a toast to this scientific mindset for he is an outspoken advocate of believing only after something is being proved beyond reasonable doubt. His writings in this book are reflections on varied topics including the lives of scientific greats, planetary wonders, the dangers of pseudo-science et al.
Sagan as a writer does not disappoint with his style. He is never a high-brow scientist writer who mumbles away just for the benefit of his computer and to no one else. It would not be an exaggeration to say that I did begin to feel a lot more affinity to Science as a discipline after reading him and Feynman. That’s right folks ! School was the best way to discard Science in the badlands of my mind. He does cover a wide variety of topics in his writing and this did arouse curiosity in my mind. Sadly, this strength of Sagan is also the biggest undoing of this little book.
The book suffers a serious problem in terms of its content (both in terms of being logically connected and also in terms of quality). After a couple of chapters I was left to wonder if Sagan ever meant this to be a book or whether the publishers cashed in on his popularity and swept in quite a few of his writings and hammered it into a shape that resembled a book. Earlier works of his that I have been acquainted with ( read Cosmos, Dragons Of Eden) have been logical and lucid in terms of their approach to the subjects. In here however, Sagan wanders all over the place. We jump right from Albert Einstein to circus freak-shows from one essay to the next. From the number of reviews in the site, it appears that there are quite a few folks who had no issues with such a style but for me it was a jumbled mass. Attention wanders as a result of this and I left the book much disappointed.
Not one of his best !
Sagan as a writer does not disappoint with his style. He is never a high-brow scientist writer who mumbles away just for the benefit of his computer and to no one else. It would not be an exaggeration to say that I did begin to feel a lot more affinity to Science as a discipline after reading him and Feynman. That’s right folks ! School was the best way to discard Science in the badlands of my mind. He does cover a wide variety of topics in his writing and this did arouse curiosity in my mind. Sadly, this strength of Sagan is also the biggest undoing of this little book.
The book suffers a serious problem in terms of its content (both in terms of being logically connected and also in terms of quality). After a couple of chapters I was left to wonder if Sagan ever meant this to be a book or whether the publishers cashed in on his popularity and swept in quite a few of his writings and hammered it into a shape that resembled a book. Earlier works of his that I have been acquainted with ( read Cosmos, Dragons Of Eden) have been logical and lucid in terms of their approach to the subjects. In here however, Sagan wanders all over the place. We jump right from Albert Einstein to circus freak-shows from one essay to the next. From the number of reviews in the site, it appears that there are quite a few folks who had no issues with such a style but for me it was a jumbled mass. Attention wanders as a result of this and I left the book much disappointed.
Not one of his best !
shmeeper's review against another edition
4.0
If you like Sagan, or are interested generally in science or space, I recommend this. There are a few chapters that are quite out of date, but even then it's interesting to hear Sagan's thoughts on his contemporary situation. The best chapters verge on revelatory. I plan to go back to parts of this book throughout my life to reignite my passion for science and for the human enterprise.